French auctioneers

Prised open

The big French-owned auction houses are at last able to do business in France

AFTER resisting injunctions from Brussels for almost a decade, the dusty world of French art auctions is at last facing transformation. The much-awaited decree shattering the centuries-old monopoly of state agents—or commissaires priseurs—over public art auctions was at long last published in July, more than a year after the law liberalising the market had been approved. Now, once the recently created conseil des ventes has approved them, international auction houses such as Christie's and Sotheby's expect to be banging the hammer in France from the start of next year.

The local auctioneers fought to the end. In late June, Sotheby's organised a sale in its posh Paris office, administered by Poulain & le Fur, a dissident firm of commissaires priseurs. But it was promptly sued by the city's association of auctioneers, which had to approve any sale not held on its own Drouot location. At the last minute, the event was moved to Poulain & le Fur's office at the somewhat less glamorous Palais des Congrès.

With international art-auction giants authorised to sell in France, competition is likely to spell rationalisation for the 458 commissaires priseurs. Some of them—such as Poulain & le Fur, Tajan and Piasa—have already built links with the big houses. But for the reluctant commissaires priseurs, there is some good news. They will now be free to set their own fees, which were fixed by law at a level low by international standards.

The reform could also breathe new life into the suffocating French market. Once the world leader—with 90% of the international art-auction market as recently as the 1950s—France now accounts for a meagre 6% (see chart). Foreign auction houses, unable to operate in Paris, have been finding art in France but selling it in New York, London and Geneva.

The effect of the changes, says François Curiel, Christie's European chairman, will be that Paris will grow, but not at the expense of other big markets. The main victims could be art dealers and wholesalers, rather than auctioneers in London or New York. The only auction spot expected to suffer is Monaco, which has been a proxy for Paris for both Christie's and Sotheby's.

For the time being, however, Paris will remain at a fiscal disadvantage compared with London and New York. Britain has until 2010 to comply with a recent European directive on a resale tax payable on contemporary paintings—the proceeds of which are transferred to artists or their families—while America has no such tax. In addition, VAT on art imports is higher in France than in America or Britain. That is likely to make foreign sellers think twice about auctioning their wares there.

But it takes more than tax to make or break an art market. Cities increasingly specialise, and the availability of treasures for sale matters. New York's domination of contemporary art is closely related to the fact that the most prominent contemporary artists happen to be American. Paris is strong in furniture, art deco and rare books. That dominance is likely to be reinforced, not weakened, by the recent change in the rules.